With gold scaling record-high price levels, Travers examines the impact the precious metals boom is having on the rare coin market. Citing one expert’s prediction that gold might soar to $10,000 an ounce, he shows why this is not far-fetched. A new section of the book looks at possible negative effects for collectors and dealers if burdensome IRS 1099 reporting requirements are not changed before their scheduled implementation in 2012.

Travers also provides pointers on how to avoid being victimized when buying or selling valuables containing precious metal, and goes behind the scenes to show in detail how buyers determine the value of gold and silver in items they buy from the public. Travers reveals insider secrets for getting the most money when selling gold and silver coins, jewelry or “scrap.”

He cautions that high-profile gold buyers who advertise extensively often pay rock-bottom prices, “luring cash-starved victims with slick TV commercials or eye-catching newspaper ads promising ‘top dollar’ for the gold that’s sitting idle in their jewelry boxes or drawers.”

A new chapter titled “A Grade Leap Forward” explores what Travers calls “the new math of coin grading” – the enhancement made possible in early 2010 when the Professional Coin Grading Service introduced its PCGS Secure Plus™ system and added intermediate “plus” (+) designations to coins at the high end of their grade level. The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC) soon began offering similar grading.

Exclusive first-time photographs show the differences between “regular” and “plus” grades.

Travers also explains how Secure Plus™ combats coin “doctoring” and shares insiders’ tips on how to get the greatest value when buying and selling PCGS and NGC plus-grade coins.

Hundreds of never-before-published digitized coin images give readers a clear look at subtle grading nuances and ways to detect altered coins. In a beefed-up color section, surprising photos reveal how the same coin was given different grades by leading services. It also shows examples of difficult-to-detect doctored and altered coins, plus endangered coins rescued from harm’s way through proper conservation.

Exclusive color photographs pinpoint how to distinguish between Morgan dollars and Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles that are Mint State-65 and Mint State 65+ — a small difference in grade that can make a significant difference in marketplace value.

The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual, Seventh Edition provides consumer-friendly advice on how to buy and sell U.S. and world coins, plus consumer protection information about the potential hazards of buying rare coins on the Internet and caveats about online auctions.

The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual, Seventh Edition has a suggested retail price of $22.99, and is available now in bookstores everywhere and online at www.RandomHouse.com.
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Mint of Finland issues a coin which incorporates hand-crafted filigree on October 15. Mint of Finland presented the Cabbage Rabbit Filigree coin in American Numismatic Association’s conference in Boston on August 11. The Filigree coin aroused plenty of interest in the conference. The Filigree .

The Cabbage Rabbit Filigree coin will be issued by the Mint of Finland on October 15. In the middle of the collector coin there is a delicate rabbit made of filigree. The Cabbage Rabbit Filigree coin is a part of the Mint of Finland’s Year of the Rabbit series. The collector coin illustrates popular Chinese Lunar theme. Chinese astrology designates year 2011 as the Year of the Rabbit.

Filigree – traditional hand-craft art as a centerpiece for modern design

Filigree is a delicate kind of jewel work made with twisted threads usually of silver or other alloys. The silver wire is not much bigger than the thickness of a hair so making the filigree is very intricate, requiring fine attention to detail and steady hands. The filigree technique has been used in jewellery making for thousands of years but it has never been used in coin minting before.

One of the Mint of Finland’s design techniques is combining coin with fragile materials that haven’t been used in coin making earlier. “The Mint of Finland is the only mint in the world that offers collector coins minted with joining technology. The technology is developed and patented by the Mint of Finland. Before filigree the Mint of Finland has joined also stone and coin”, comments the Mint of Finland’s Collector Item’s vice president Mika Peippo. The patent number of the joining technology is FI 118505B.

In the EU-area the Cabbage Rabbit Filigree coins can be subscribed from the Mint of Finland’s webstore at www.suomenrahapaja.fi from October 15.

Mint of Finland is the leading company in its field in Scandinavia and the Baltic region. Mint of Finland owns Mint of Sweden (AB Myntverket) and 50% of Mint of Norway Ltd. (Det Norske Myntverket AS). Its activities include the design, marketing and minting of coins. The company is owned by the Finnish state. It encompasses two business units: Circulation Coins and Collector Items. Mint of Finland produces metal circulation coins, jubilee and special coins, coins sets, medals, badges of honour and jewellery. The group employs some 133 people and exports to nearly 40 countries. The year 2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Mint by the order of Tsar Alexander II. During the jubilee year, Mint of Finland will issue five new collector coins, open an online boutique, and in October, Finns can discover how coins are minted at an exposition at the Finnish Science Centre Heureka. For further details about the jubilee year events, see our website at www.suomenrahapaja.fi

Additional information

Mika Peippo
Vice President
Mint of Finland Ltd
Tel +358 40 509 7628
Email: mika.peippo@mint.fi

Henna Karjalainen
Communications and Marketing Manager
Tel +358 50 575 9197
Email: henna.karjalainen@mint.fi

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On 16th October this year a limited quantity of 6,027 Vienna Philharmonic coins, each weighing 20 ounces of fine gold, will go on sale in Europe, America and Japan.

20 ounces to commemorate 20 years!

Why the odd number? The mint decided to offer 2009 coins (the date of the 20th anniversary) in its three major markets: in Europe, in America and in Japan. Investors still remember the 15 giant coins (each of 1,000 ounces) that celebrated the fifteenth anniversary in 2004, and that entered the Guinness Book of Records as the then largest gold coin in the world. All 15 giant coins were snapped up within days, and the excitement surrounding this special issue of a 20 ounce coin promises a similar market reaction.

The new 20 ounce coin has a diameter of 74 mm and a thickness of 8.3 mm and is housed in a prestigious wooden and red velvet case. Pre-orders for this unique anniversary gold coin have already started pouring into the mint in Vienna. It promises to be a major success as indeed the past 20 years of the Austrian bullion programme have been.

The Vienna Philharmonic Story

The decision in 1989 to issue a gold bullion coin in the two weights of 1 ounce and ¼ ounce was greeted with indulgent smiles. Austria, a small central European country since the destruction of her empire in 1918 and without any gold mining industry to support, was entering the bullion market, long dominated by the Krugerrand and that time divided between the USA, Canada and Western Australia.

Berger and his team decided that music was the ideal theme for their new coin. Austria was internationally renowned for its music, but they decided against the portrayal of one of the many great composers like Mozart, Haydn or Strauss. That would make the coin appear like a commemorative edition for collectors. Instead they chose a living and world-famous musical institution: the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. To their delight the members of the orchestra enthusiastically endorse this choice, freely grant the use of their name. The engraver, Thomas Pesendorfer, designed a collection of instruments to represent the orchestra itself and for the other side of the coin he took the great pipe organ of the Golden Hall in Vienna where the orchestra plays at home. It is seen on television around the world every year on 1st January during the New Year’s Day Concert.

The new Austrian coin was launched in Vienna on 10th October and was an immediate success. The demand in the home market was nothing less than ferocious. In two and a half months 419,000 ounces were sold, achieving with one blow an 18% world market share for the entire year 1989! It rapidly established itself as a serious participant in the international gold market. In 1992 and again in 1995, 1996 and 2000 the Vienna Philharmonic was ranked by the World Gold Council as the top selling gold bullion coin worldwide. In 2008 the Vienna Philharmonic continued to rank No. 1 in Europe and in Japan, and with a year’s market share of 25% it came in 3rd worldwide narrowly missing 2nd place. The “indulgent smiles” have long since disappeared.

A 1/10 ounce in 1991 and a ½ ounce coin in 1994 completed the traditional family of four sizes. In 2008 a silver 1 ounce Vienna Philharmonic was added to the investment range with resounding success.

Looking back on 20 years of continual growth and success, the Vienna Philharmonic has established itself firmly as one of the four great gold bullion coins offered on the international market of today. This one-time issue of a limited number of 20 ounce gold coins is but a fitting tribute to a 20 year long success story that shows no signs of letting up in the near future.

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This year’s set contains 18 coins:  four Presidential $1 Coins honoring William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor; a new Native American $1 Coin; six commemorative quarter-dollar coins honoring the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories (the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands); four new Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coins struck in honor of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth; and the Jefferson 5-cent coin, Roosevelt dime and Kennedy half-dollar.  The dime, half-dollar, and six quarters are struck in lustrous 90 percent silver.

All 18 coins bear the “S” mintmark of the United States Mint at San Francisco.  The set also includes a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the Director of the United States Mint.

The coins are as follows:

(4) Presidential $1 Coins (honoring past Presidents of the United States: William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor);

(6) Quarter-dollar coins* (honoring the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands);

(4) Lincoln Bicentennial One Cent Coins** (recognizing the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth);

(1) Native American $1 Coin;

(1) Jefferson nickel;

(1) Roosevelt dime*;

(1) Kennedy half-dollar*.

*The dime, half-dollar and six quarters are struck in 90% silver, generally referred to as “coin silver.”**Lincoln Cents contain an alloy consisting of 95% copper, 3% zinc and 2% tin that matches the alloy used in the original 1907 version.

The United States Mint Silver Proof Set is also available through the United States Mint’s Online Subscription Prog

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“The format of the auctions is quite simple,” said Cristiano Bierrenbach, Director of International Sales at Heritage. “They will stay up for four weeks, will have an average of 500-600 certified lots, all unreserved and all starting at $1.”

As the undisputed industry leader in World Coins, Heritage is starting its monthly world coin Internet auctions as both a compliment to its weekly U.S. Rare Coin Internet-only auctions as well as to serve the world coin collecting audience devoted to coins that fall in the price range below that of most of the company’s more high profile auctions.

“There’s a consistent and committed audience for world coins that is only looking to spend anywhere from $30 to $300 and up,” said Bierrenbach. “We heard the demands of collectors and now present to them our monthly world coin Internet-only auctions.”

Buyers of rare world coins will now have a reason to visit the Heritage world coins auction home page more than just during the company’s Signature auction offerings. With a monthly selection of rare world coins – featuring the variety and pricing that Heritage is known for – collectors will have a reason to check in with Heritage on a regular basis. This allows them some excellent buys on fine and rare world coins as well as a first look at any catalog offerings that will be coming up.

“We’re excited to provide this opportunity to collectors,” said Bierrenbach. “They love fine world coins the way that we do here at Heritage, so we know what a regular buying occasion can do for them, and for their collections.”

For more information on this and other future World Coin Monthly Internet Auctions, to read detailed descriptions and download fully enlargeable, hi-res images, go online to the Heritage World Coin Auctions homepage.

To discuss consigning ancient or world coins to Long Beach or another upcoming auction, please call Cristiano Bierrenbach at 800-872-6467 Ext. 1661 or Warren Tucker at Ext. 1287.

Heritage Auction Galleries is the world’s third largest auction house, and by far the largest auctioneer of rare collectibles, with annual sales over $700 million, and 450,000+ registered online bidder-members. For more information about Heritage’s auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

Want to get the up-to-the-minute updates and breaking news stories about Heritage? Get them as they happen at: www.Twitter.com/HeritagePress; www.Twitter.com/JimHalperin; Facebook: Heritage Auction Galleries.

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